Mixed Messages From Concealed Carry Survey

If the new concealed-carry law in Illinois was meant to help citizens feel safer, it's failing, according to a survey of 1,000 registered voters by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute atSouthern Illinois University. The statewide results show 52 percent of respondents feel more unsafe, and 32 percent feel more safe under the new law, under which the state is just now issuing licenses to carry a concealed weapon.

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“Chicago, far and away, said less safe. Chicago suburban said less safe. Downstate split exactly evenly,” said John Jackson, a political science professor with the institute. And then there's the question of whether more exceptions should be granted: “57 percent said, yes, they should have exceptions, but that margin is much smaller than last year, when an overwhelming 71 percent were in favor of exceptions,” said Jackson. “If I were a public official, I would think, maybe it's time to let this thing sit for a while” before tweaking it.